The Pain of Love
by mashimaromadness
Summary: A short, but not too short, story about love and losing it. HarryGinny in the beginning. Don't want to give anything away though. This is my first fanfiction, so please readreview
1. A Meeting Gone Wrong

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so please, be nice. But I'm always open to suggestions. I want to know how I really did, even if it means a flame. Just know I'm new... Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter, blah blah blah... As if I would actually try to make money off this... As is if I could...

Also, I'm adding this in quickly, later, and I mention this in chapter four, but PLEASE, leave a review for each chapter. I would really appreciate it, authors need love too. Thank you so much!

The Pain of Love

Chapter 1: A meeting gone wrong

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Ginny kissed Harry deeply. She loved him more than words could express. They had been dating for three years, since right after they had both gotten out of Hogwarts, and she couldn't think of living life without him. And right now she was excited.

She broke the kiss and smiled at him. "So, are you ready?"

Harry smiled back at her, "Of course, baby. How do you think they will react?"

Ginny grin widened, "I think they'll be very happy for us. And I'm pretty sure Ron and Hermione suspected something. Well, scratch that, I think Hermione suspected us, and told Ron." Ron and Hermione had been dating since 6th year at Hogwarts, and were pretty much ready for marriage.

Harry's grin turned into a contemplative frown. "I sure hope so. I don't want to have all your brothers against me. With Ron it was one thing, but you're their only sister, and the youngest. I would HATE to be at the bottom of that dog pile!"

They both laughed and walked down the stairs to the living room, where the whole family was waiting...

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They could all guess what the announcement was that Harry and Ginny had gathered them there was. And her brothers had a plan. They were all chatting quietly when Harry and Ginny walked into the room, holding hands.

"Mom, Dad, my beloved brothers, Hermione, we have an announcement."

"Yes dear?" Molly asked.

"Umm... me and Ginny, I-I mean... Ginny and I have been... what I mean to say is... we've been..." Harry stuttered.

Ginny cut him off, a little less nervous. "We're dating," she said matter- of-factly. "We have been for three years. I don't really know why we have been hiding this from you, except that Harry was kind of scared of your reaction," she giggled nervously.

There was a long silence. All a part of the plan the brothers had, of course, but Harry and Ginny didn't have to know that.

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Harry was worried. There was a awkward silence going on. And her brothers were frowning. They aren't very happy about this... are they? he thought to himself.

Suddenly, all the brothers began to advance on him.

"Guys," Ginny said, panicked, "Please don't! I love Harry!"

They continued to advance. Ginny got more and more worried by the second. She walked up to Charlie, who was leading the pack of brothers, and slapped him across the face. He was shocked. She went to each of them in turn and slapped them before they got over the shock and realized what she was doing. Then she walked back to Harry.

"How could you all?" Ginny yelled tears welling up in her eyes. "Can't you see I'm in love? Why would you do this?" By this time she was screaming, "I love him more than words can say. Why can't you just leave us alone!"

She ran up to her room, crying her eyes out. Harry shot them a dirty look, as if to say that they should be ashamed for making her cry, and ran up after her.

When they left, Charlie turned around and said, "Well that didn't go as planned..."

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Up in her room, Harry was cradling Ginny in his arms, rocking her back and forth and petting her hair, trying to calm her down. She couldn't stop crying though.

All Ginny's brother's walked into the room, then, looking apologetic.

"Hey, Ginny, calm down, it was a joke." Ron said, "We were just trying to freak Harry out. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Ginny was furious, and soon forgot the fact that she was just in anguish, her tears drying instantly in her eyes.

"You did what!" She screamed. "You made me go through all that pain for nothing! You are such horrible people! How could you do this to us?"

Her brothers all gave each other hesitant looks before looking to Harry for a little help. He mouthed to them, "Go, let us be along a while," and then turned back to comfort her again.

As the Weasley boys walked away they could hear Harry gently whispering things like, "It's okay. They didn't mean to hurt you like that. They were just trying to have some fun."

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A/N: Please, please, please review! And if you liked it, recommend it to others. I'm trying to get the word out about this story. Also, I should have the next chapter up in a week or so, but it could be shorter, just whenever I get around to it. Thank you for reading and REVIEW! Please?


	2. The Good Times

Hello all, sorry it took me so long to get back to you, writer's block is a bitch. And boy did I have a case of it. I sincerely apologize, it's been way too long, but I was struck with this idea while sitting around waiting for my math class to end. As the bell was ringing I thought "Aha! That's it!" and now we have this. So it's finally here! Oh, and on a funny side note, when typing Weasley into my Microsoft Word I got spell check, and one of the suggestions was Weasel. Rowling wasn't too far off on that one, I guess. Oh, and also, if some of the lines are solid and some dashes it's because my Word is being stupid, and only letting me make them solid sometimes. Oh, and extra thanks to my beta, Crimsonphoenix1.

Review responses:

Pantstheterrible: Yeah, she's touchy, but she was emotional and worried, and that famous Weasley temper snuck up on her real quick, I think. That's why I wrote it that way. Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

Crimsonphoenix1: I'm glad you liked it. Here's the long awaited update, finally. Thank you sooo sooo much for betaing too!

Silverlocke980: The intro chapter seems a little rushed because I had planned for a bit of a dramatic opening. This chapter is something to kind of show their connection, how much they love each other and whatnot. That's why this took me so long. I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to make this chapter at least a little interesting. The meat happens in chapter 3, which is written, so it won't take as long. Thank you so much. I appreciate your review, and I'm glad you think the characters fit. Ginny maybe not so much in this chapter, Harry maybe not too, but I'm going to explain that later. Thank you.

Pyrogrl1342: Hi. I know they like long stories, but first I have to think of something that will actually last a long time, unlike this. This couldn't work as a long story. Actually… it could… but that depends on reviews and stuff, but you'll find out more about that after the third chapter. So yeah, have fun reading my stuff!

Disclaimer: People, I promise, I'm not benefiting from this story at all, except for your lovely reviews and a feeling of satisfaction. Leave me alone with the stupid disclaimers. I wouldn't want to be Rowling anyways, way too many people hate her after the fifth book. Oh, and I don't own Great America or any of the rides, but it would be totally cool if I did. Free rides for everyone!

Long winded, yes, but now, onto the story!

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The Good Times

A couple months later:

On a boring day at the Burrow, (a rare occasion, I know) Harry and Ginny were sitting around, cuddling and whatnot, when Ginny was struck with an idea.

"A Muggle amusement park!" she cried.

"Huh?" asked Harry, more than a little confused by her outburst.

"That's what we should do today; go to a Muggle amusement park. I mean, we both have the day off, and there's not much to do today, so let's go to the Muggle amusement park."

"Okay," Harry readily agreed, wanting to do something fun with Ginny, "but let's drop by Gringotts first to get some Muggle money."

"Sounds great, but let's think of where to go first…" Ginny said pensively. "Hmm… all the best amusement parks are in America. There's this place in California called Great America. Corny name, but I heard it's great. Let's go there!" She burst out the last sentence, as if she'd had an epiphany.

"All right! All right! I surrender," Harry said jokingly, chuckling under his breath. "Calm down! We'll go to Great America! Let me Apparate to Gringotts to get some American Muggle money. I'll be back in a second."

After Harry returned with 500 in American Muggle money, Ginny was practically jumping up and down, ready to be in California.

"Let's go, let's go! I'm ready!" she cried excitedly. All Harry could do was stare at her though. She was feeling showy that day, and had put on a tight outfit that accentuated all of her lovely curves. She would fit in perfect with Muggles, too. She looked amazing! He couldn't stop staring as her low cut top was drawing his eyes…

"Hello?" Ginny inquired, looking at him. "Harry? You in there?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, still staring.

"Harry, my face is up here," she waved her hand around her face and giggled. "I take it you like my outfit?" she giggled again.

Her comments snapped Harry out of his daze, his cheeks changing to a red that could rival even a Weasley. "Okay, let's go. Sorry about that."

And on that note, two small pops could be heard as Harry and Ginny Apparated off to a day of fun.

Harry was rather annoyed. The prices for the tickets were outrageous. He busted almost 200 just on the admission. It was 82 for one ticket! This was totally outrageous! 'Oh well, anything for Ginny,' he thought.

Ginny ran into the park, amazed by the sight of the interesting gardening those silly Muggles probably spent months designing and growing, the huge water fountain, and the massive double-decker carousel behind it.

"Oh, Harry, let's go on that one first!" she cried, pointing to the massive carousel. As they approached the other side, where the entrance was, she spotted the swing ride and Triple Play. "Ooh, there's so many to choose from! Let's do this one then get a map and go on all the rides!"

"Alright, sounds great," Harry said, encouraged by her immense enthusiasm. This was one of the reasons he loved her so much.

After the carousel they got on the swing ride, Ginny laughing at all the fun she was having on the silly contraption. Then they went on Triple Play twice, mostly because Ginny loved the feeling of falling every time the ride crested. It made Harry laugh as she whooped at the feeling, smiling and laughing. God, he loved her so much. Just seeing her so happy made the feeling build up in his chest until he felt as though he would explode with it.

After a full day of riding the roller coasters and getting soaked on the water rides, (Ginny absolutely loved the white water rafting ride. They went on it at least eight times, and Ginny developed a technique. She wanted to get wet, and when she asked the people at the geysers to spray her, they wouldn't, but if she begged them not to, they all would spray her mercilessly. So that's what she continued to do after she figured it out.) Harry and Ginny began walking towards the empty parking lot to Apparate home. As they walked, Ginny spotted the most adorable stuffed turtle she had ever seen.

"Ooh, Harry, will you win that for me?" she pleaded, fawning over the cute thing.

"Sure," he said, looking at the game. It was the ring toss game, where Harry had 100 rings, and if he threw one of the rings on top of a bottle, he could pick any prize.

Harry was having a lot of trouble. He had just a couple of rings left, and he still hadn't gotten one on top of a bottle. He looked at his sweet Ginny, her eyes pleading him to win the turtle for her. Not wanting to upset her, he threw the last ring, using a bit of wandless magic to place the ring on the bottle.

Ginny squealed with delight and pointed to the turtle. She tried to keep the excitement out of her voice as she practically cried, "I want that one!" She grabbed it out of the man's hands and cuddled it.

"Thank you so much, Harry!" she cried, hugging him and kissing him deeply.

They continued on to walk out of the park, then Apparated home and fell asleep in each other's arms. Little did they know that things were about to go downhill.

Muahahahaha! My cliffies are semi evil! Yay! A few notes about the chapter… About the steep amount of money Harry got for the trip, (it was 500, just in case you don't remember) he wanted to be cautious, because he didn't know how much things cost there and he wanted to be able to buy Ginny anything she wanted during the day. Also, about why they didn't just Apparate straight into the park… They're honest people, and it would be dishonest to go in without paying. Also, it would be safer to Apparate into an empty part of the parking lot. What if they Apparated in right on top of some innocent Muggles, or someone saw them? That wouldn't be very good. Finally, some people might say that Ginny was a little out of character… but I made her that way to show how excited she was about being out and having a day of fun with the man she loves.

Hope that clears up anything you were wondering about! If not, review and ask. If so, review anyways, and tell me what you thought. Flames are always welcome, but good reviews are even more welcome-er. Thanks for R/R-ing! Love you all!


	3. Secrets Are Painful Things To Find Out

A/N: Hello again everybody! I would first like to thank you all for reviewing my story! Sorry this took me so long to update, I've been busy and I wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to could review before I updated. Plus, it's best to post on weekends, more people are likely to find my story. So by the time I had this done and I got a free weekend, it had been so long. But it's here now, so rejoice! So thank you all for reading and here are my review responses!

Pantstheterrible: You caught my lovely foreshadowing. Hope you like the chapter! Ginny's not so emotional in this chapter compared to the other two.

Crimsonphoenix1: Thank you again for beta-ing this chapter. Sorry I haven't emailed you in forever and a day. Life is catching up to me. That, and my parents took the internet out of my house to "punish" my brother. Too bad it's punishing me too, lol.

Also, thanks to Nefetteri, I'm glad you liked it. Not so many reviews this time. I would really appreciate it if everyone who read left a review, even if it's as simple as "I hate this" or "I love this." It doesn't take that long and it makes me feel great, even if you hate it. Thanks so much to my beta, Crimsonphoenix1. Read her stuff too, it rocks!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, don't sue me. And I hope Ari doesn't mind that I borrowed her name.

And now, on to the chapter! Hope you like it!

The Pain of Love, Chapter 3:

Secrets Are Painful Things to Find Out

Ginny was always an amazing poet. Whenever she felt a strong emotion, she put it down into beautiful verse. For many years (ever since she started dating Harry), almost every poem she wrote was happy and filled with love.

Harry loved Ginny more than he could say. There was only one problem… he loved someone else too. She was a cute, Muggle-born girl by the name of Ariana. She lived the same childhood as Harry. Her parents always knew she was a witch (she had been floating things around the house since she was two) but they hated her for it, so they tried to beat it out of her.

She sympathized with Harry, and loved him very much, but she knew his heart belonged somewhere else. She could sense it in his every move, his every word. He did love her, but there was someone else who he loved even more. But he knew that too. Next week was the time, he decided. He loved Ginny too much to risk losing her, so he was going to dump Ariana. But he waited just a little too long.

"Who's Ariana?" she glared at him, that famous Weasley temper rising again.

"Ummm… the-girl-I've-been-dating-on-top-of-you-I'm-sorry-I'm-dumping-her-tomorrow," he mumbled quickly.

"What was that?" she asked, her cold fury frightening Harry.

He repeated what he'd said, this time a little bit slower. "The girl I've been dating on top of you. Look, Ginny, I'm really sorry. I swear to god I'm dumping her tomorrow."

"Harold James Potter, you are a despicable man!" she cried as she ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

"Ginny, come back! I love you." (A/N: I know, corny and more than a little cliché, but hey, whatever works)

She needed to get this out. She had to write something to Harry--a letter--so he'd know just how she felt and how angry she was. So she grabbed a quill and sat down with some parchment.

Harry Potter,

How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me. I know I love you. Or, at least, I used to. I don't know anymore. Deep down I want to forgive you, but I don't know if I ever will. I wrote this poem, and I think now is the appropriate time to share it with you. It fits the best to how I feel.

The Pain of Love

I can't think straight,  
as my eyes close,  
the night – it waits,  
in its pouncing pose.

It wants to take over,  
it wants me to die,  
but I won't let it,  
unless you're a lie.

I will stay strong  
until the end,  
as long as you love me  
I refuse to bend.

But somehow I know-  
somehow I see  
that you are lying,  
lying to me.

And I have no reason  
to stand strong and tall,  
because you have left me  
there's nothing at all.

So as I give in  
to the night and to death,  
know it's your fault,  
all your fault I left.

You were my life support, Harry. You were there through the good and the bad. But you are no longer.

Goodnight,

Ginny

(A/N: I know the poem doesn't perfectly fit the story, but you get the drift. I wrote the poem first, so the un-prefect-ness is to be expected, I suppose. Anyways, hope you like the poem, I wrote it, and it inspired me to write this story.)

She gave the letter to Pig and went to sleep, exhausted by depression.

Harry wept as he read her letter, realizing just how wrong he had been all along to do this to her.

A/N: Another chapter done! I hope you all liked it. I'm hoping for a little reader poll right now though. Post in a review whether you think I should continue the story or just leave it at that. And, if you think I should continue, whether you think I should have them get back together, or not. I hope you liked it and PLEASE R/R!


	4. The Aftermath

A/N: I'm not going to be responding to reviews this chapter because I was sitting around reading other fics and suddenly decided to write the next chapter here. It's the middle of the night and I don't think I can deal with it right now. But thanks to each and every one of you who reviewed, from the bottom of my heart.

And HEY! To those of you new to my story, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review for each chapter instead of just one at the end. I would love that. Giving your authors love is a good deed, and good deeds get you into heaven. THANKS!

Chapter 4: The Aftermath

Harry didn't know what to do. He needed to cry on someone's shoulder, and have someone to be there for him. He was in so much pain he couldn't even stand up to go anywhere.

It was four days after the letter Ginny had sent him, and he still hadn't been able to get up from his bed, he was so ashamed of what he had done, and really didn't know why he had even done it in the first place. He couldn't live with himself after this. It was too much guilt.

Coincidentally, Ginny hadn't moved from her bed either. She could do nothing but stare at the ceiling and wonder through her sobs why he had done this. She had been so in love with him, and she had honestly thought he had reciprocated her feelings. She wondered if he loved the other girl too. She wondered what the other girl was like. She wondered if people would blame her if she murdered the woman who had taken Harry from her.

In their separate homes both Harry and Ginny lay on their respective beds crying and thinking on their terrible situations.

Eventually Harry got fed up. He was tired of sulking. Slowly, he rose from his bed and padded across the floor of his flat to his bathroom. His first plan of action was to take a shower, because he couldn't do anything smelling this bad.

After his shower, Harry cooked himself a large meal of comfort food and tried to think of where he was going to go, and what he was going to go.

Ariana was sitting around her flat wondering when she was going to see Harry next. It had been over a week, and she figured he was off with the other woman. She didn't need to be told this. He was obviously in love with someone else, but she loved him so completely she would do anything to see him happy. She was contented to just be near him; she knew he loved her, but she suspected this was only platonically, and that he had been deceiving her, and himself, for a long time.

Lost in thought, Ariana didn't hear the customary pop that announced a person in her home. So when Harry whispered "hello" in a broken voice she almost jumped out her skin in fright.

She looked up and gasped audibly. He looked a wreck. Although she could tell he had showered and eaten, he looked as though previous to that he hadn't eaten in days, and that he had been crying very hard for a very long time.

She jumped out of her chair and ran over to hug him. "Harry, do you want to talk to me about it?" Ariana and Harry had always had an innate understanding of each other, so she that was all that needed to be said.

"I have things to tell you," he whispered, not able to look her in the eye. They sat down at her table and Ariana put some tea on while Harry stared at his hands. When they both had tea cups sitting in front of them, Harry began to tell her all about Ginny and his entire situation. Ariana stared at him. It hurt more than she expected to finally be told about this other person. But that was wrong, she was the other person. She had to accept that.

Harry looked at her, wide eyed, expecting the worst, but hoping she would understand that he had made a human error, and that he was truly sorry.

"I always knew" Ariana began, holding up a hand as Harry opened his mouth to say something "that your heart belonged to someone else. Harry, I love you so much. I will do anything to see you happy again, to see that spark return to your eyes. Even help you get Ginny back. As long as you promise me we can still be friends. I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, but I'll do it for you." She squared her jaw and stood up.

"Now, where to begin… First, let's get you cleaned up properly." She pulled him out of his chair and began to grab something for a portkey to his flat.

"Thank you, but you really don't have to…" Harry began, but Ariana put her hand to his mouth, and looked deeply into his eyes.

"This is hard for me, but I am going to do it if it will make you happy. Please, my resolve is weak, don't test it. I want to help you, and I will," Ariana whispered to him, pleading him with her eyes as well.

Harry nodded slowly, not breaking the eye contact. "I know this hurts you, thank you," he said sincerely. And with that he felt that familiar pull behind his navel as he was transported back to his flat where Ariana turned into a whirlwind looking for something nice for Harry to wear and throwing him a towel, saying "go shower again, and take your time this time!"

Ginny ate the food her mother left on her bedside table only because her mother wouldn't leave the room until she did. Oh, how she wanted Harry back, how she wished he had never done this to her. All she wanted was the good times back again.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the next installment of my lovely story. Sorry if some of the sentences are a little grammatically incorrect. I wanted to get this out immediately and it was a total spur of the moment thing. Like, I'm finishing the chapter right now, and it's 11:00 PM on a tuesday night. Random, aint it? Oh, and again, to those of you who haven't, please leave a review for each chapter, I'll give you some brownies, and a lot of love. Even some updates… Thanks guys!


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